the grandfather

I didn't have a grandfather living anywhere near me growing up, so my warm & fuzzy childhood memories of the grandfather are few. But the images that I do conjure up of grandfatherly love involve a chair that is warm and cozy, maybe near a window with a lovely view, or near a fireplace for those in colder climates. The images that I conjure up do not involve a chair placed under a crudely constructed shack, surrounded by piles of empty booze containers.

But that is exactly the grandfather that 4 beautiful and lively young children come home to. They seem too young to understand. Instead, they accept him and love him just as he is.

home

Home.
1 young single-mother.
3 very young children.
4 walls and a roof and not an awful lot more.
There are few options.
But there is caring. And kindness. And love.
And perhaps most importantly, there is hope.

a view

A spot in the shade. 

An optimistic attempt at an escape from the often oppressive heat. 

A view that isn't what most conjure up when they hear 'just another day in paradise'.

lonely

I spotted this at the end of an incredibly uplifting visit with a beautiful family.
The matriarch of this family has spent her entire lifetime struggling to keep a very simple roof over their heads. Struggling to be sure that there was food on the table. 
As the children grew, her struggle became their struggle. And may well become the struggle of her grandchildren.
They are a family with very little. 
But they are happy. And they are grateful.
And unlike this abandoned stuffed bunny, they are not lonely.
For they have hope, they have love, and most importantly, they have each other.

escape

It's cool. 
There's a breeze. 
It's calmer and quieter than it is inside the house.
So he chooses to spend his days outside in this make-shift dwelling. 
Watching his corner of the world go by, reminiscing about his days spent at sea exploring the Caribbean. Sharing the wisdom imparted on him by his grandparents. Wishing the world were a better place.

laundry

The laundry. It never actually takes very long to do, and really requires pretty much no elbow grease whatsoever. But it never ends. It is always there. As quickly as the clean stuff gets put away, the hampers are refilled with dirty stuff. Ugh. But then, I try to remember that I am actually extremely fortunate to have all this laundry to do. To have a family that needs caring for. To have a washer and dryer that makes the chore incredibly simple and speedy. Unlike so many in our community. 
This load of laundry soaking in a pink tub was yet another sobering scene in my week. Somewhere just out of the frame is a scrub brush. Now that way of getting clothes clean takes elbow grease! There are also long laundry lines hanging around the house. No convenience of a dryer here. A family to love and care for, but the hard way. I'm thinking that my feelings of never-ending don't quite compare to the feelings of never-ending in this house.
It is frustrating that so often it takes seeing what others do not have to remember just how fortunate so many of us are. Even when it comes to the never-ending chore of laundry.

grateful

Having to cook yet another meal doesn't sit especially high at the top of the list of things I love to do. Sure, cooking is fun & I enjoy it ... but not when it's a matter of battling against a clock that doesn't seem to have enough hours on it and the kids just need to eat.
This pot of very watery soup, particularly low on veggies or anything else especially nutritious, was a sobering reminder of just how incredibly fortunate I am to have a kitchen full of healthy & nutritious food to cook with. No matter how little time there is to prepare a meal, or how tired I am at the end of another long day, I am so grateful to have a variety of nutritious foods to choose from.
We should be doing all we can to see that everyone is so fortunate.

home ... soon

The purple colored structure was home. Though is wasn't more than 4 walls and a roof. It housed a young mother and her 3 very young children. A young mother who likely feels that every day is a struggle to see that her children do not go to bed hungry.
The trailer is where she will soon make a new home for her young family. 
It was given to her by the government, to help her. Though it was far from habitable when it was handed over. 
It has been many months of work, at every single turn an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. But with the hard work of an incredibly kind and dedicated man, the trailer is looking more and more fit to live in. 
More and more like the home it will soon be.